


Selective Focus

by hutchabelle



Series: Selective Focus [1]
Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-29
Updated: 2014-08-29
Packaged: 2018-02-15 06:52:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2219742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hutchabelle/pseuds/hutchabelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katniss Everdeen, editorial photographer for GQ magazine, can’t stop looking at proofs from her photoshoot with Peeta Mellark, a high-powered sports marketer for the LA Galaxy. Her daydreams cause her to lose her focus when she imagines them together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Selective Focus

“See you later, Katniss!”

Katniss glanced up from her desk and gave a half-hearted wave to her co-workers who flocked to the elevator at the end of the hall. The clock read 5:30 p.m., but Katniss had more work to do before she felt comfortable leaving. She wanted to go over the proofs from her latest photoshoot and prepare a sample layout before allowing herself a night off at home in comfy sweats with a glass of red wine in her hand and Buttercup, her yellow tabby, curled up in her lap.

The elevator dinged as the doors closed and a thick silence settled over the floor. She sorted through the paperwork on her desk in an attempt to tidy her workspace and waited for the incoming alert from her email account. The film developers promised to have them to her by 6:00 p.m., but she was hoping they were a few minutes ahead of schedule.

At 5:45 p.m., the overhead lights dimmed automatically and Katniss sighed in relief. The florescent panels cast a horrific glare on her workspace and she wished she could control how many of them came on in her office during the day. Thankfully, the slight tint on the glass wall of her enclosed space shielded her from the artificial gleam that blanketed the area where the rest of the magazine’s employees worked.

With her desk in order, she picked up her travel mug of coffee and took a deep draw. Her eyes were tired, but she had no intention of complaining. She knew how lucky she was to have been given a job as a lead photographer with GQ when she was still relatively young. She’d turned thirty just a few weeks ago in early May. She’d made it big long before a number of her fellow photography majors who were every bit as talented as her.

The familiar ping came from her computer, and she clicked on the incoming message. Giving it a quick glance, she frowned when she realized there were no attachments. Apparently, the department had sent hard copies and the email asked if they’d been delivered.

Sifting through her desk’s inbox, she found a manila envelope she’d thought was an old project and opened it to find a quarter inch thick stack of proofs with a handwritten note on a sheet of GQ letterhead.

“Every single shot was great!” the note said with a smaller, “This guy knows how to smolder,” at the bottom of the page.

Katniss smiled and pulled the paper clip from the stack. Reclining in her chair, she propped her feet on the desk and observed her work from the photoshoot she’d shot earlier that week with Peeta Mellark, one of the youngest and most successful sports marketing agents in the LA metropolitan area. At the young age of thrity-one, he’d risen through the ranks of minor league soccer teams to work for the LA Galaxy as the head marketing executive. It was his job to make sure no major PR scandals rocked the organization and to drum up interest in the team. He was innovative and smart and he’d driven up profits during his three year campaign.

To be fair, Katniss wasn’t much of a soccer fan, but she did admire David Beckham, and Peeta Mellark was the one responsible for capitalizing on his career with the Galaxy as a marketing ploy to keep interest in the team at an all-time high. Somehow, the marketing exec convinced the Brit to remain connected to the club after his retirement in 2012 and his return to his home country.

Peeta’s résumé impressed Katniss, a successful woman in her own right. He hadn’t seemed a bit intimidated by her during the shoot, which wasn’t necessarily something she always encountered. Her love life wasn’t as thriving as most people assumed it was because a number of men seemed to be scared of her connections and business-like attitude. She didn’t have time to play games, so she called men on their bullshit before it could get out of hand. Several men had fled in terror at her bluntness. Peeta didn’t seem the type to scare easily, nor did he give her anything but straightforward and honest answers when she asked questions. He’d followed her directions without protesting, which indicated he trusted her expertise.

She appreciated that about him.

As much as she respected his attitude, she realized she enjoyed his looks just as much as she glanced through the proofs. The first several pages were filled with shots of him sporting a three piece tailored Armani suit with the softest pale blue dress shirt underneath. The suit itself was charcoal black with the faintest hint of silver pinstripes that were emphasized by the blue in the shirt. The tie he wore was a deep blue with black swirls and tucked into the cut of his vest. The three metallic buttons reflected the same silver as the pinstripes.

Katniss bit into her bottom lip as she allowed her gaze to roam across his body and take in his presence on the pages. He filled out his jacket nicely—broad shoulders topped a trim torso that tapered down to his waist in a V. His hips were slim, but he had thick thighs that strained in all the right places against the seams of his trousers. As she flipped the page, she surveyed several shots she’d taken when he turned his back and glanced over his shoulder at her. His backside curved deliciously in the pictures in which he had his jacket slung over his shoulder.

She breathed in shakily and grabbed her travel mug again. She needed something to calm her down, but the caffeine didn’t seem to be helping. Reaching into the purse she had stashed in her bottom drawer, she grabbed the miniature bottle of whiskey she’d hidden in a compartment when she returned to LA on a flight from the east coast on Sunday. Her seatmate passed out before he could drink them all and offered it to her. She’d accepted and hadn’t had time to unpack since then due to her overly packed schedule.

She unscrewed the lid and dumped the bottle’s contents into her coffee mug, shook it slightly to mix the two liquids, and sipped. She sighed when she felt the warmth from the whiskey spread through her body. The red wine she had planned to drink at home wasn’t strong enough when faced with the images in front of her.

Flipping to the third page, she became mesmerized by his deep blue eyes. The royal blue of the tie and the pale powder blue of his shirt deepened his natural shade to a cerulean blue, one that reminded her of the ocean on its clearest day or the sky over the mountains after a rainstorm when she was home in the Appalachians visiting her family. His straight white teeth peeked out from between his full bottom lip and the thin top one, and one image showed the tip of his tongue just peeking through and running along the bottom of his front teeth.

Suddenly, Katniss wondered what that tongue would feel like against hers. Peeta’s confidence was enough to assure Katniss that he rarely, if ever, failed to get what he wanted. She could imagine the authority with which he approached women in which he was interested, and she had a feeling he wouldn’t be timid letting them know what he liked and what he wanted from each of them.

As the whiskey relaxed her more, she allowed herself to fantasize.

Katniss lowered her camera and called out, “Good job. Just a couple more angles and we’ll be done for the day.”

Peeta smiled at her and nodded his agreement before walking toward her slowly and deliberately. He stopped just a few inches from her and looked down into her gray eyes, his blue gaze caressing her face before dipping to the valley between her full breasts that strained against her button down blouse. The intensity of his stare sent electricity through her body and she could feel her nipples tighten in response to him. A flash of desire shot across his face as they hardened enough that they stood at attention beneath the thin lace of her bra and the soft satin of her blouse. Without warning, Peeta raised his hand to her and skimmed the pad of his thumb across her left nipple.

A soft gasp escaped from her lips as a jolt of pure sexual desire shot from his thumb straight to her core. She shook and almost dropped the camera, but he grabbed it with his other hand and steadied her.

“Easy there,” he joked softly in his deep voice. “You don’t want to be dropping such expensive equipment. Let me put it in a safe place for you.”

She couldn’t speak but watched him with wide eyes as he pulled the camera from her frozen grip and set it on the table just to the left of the shooting area. She noticed they were mysteriously alone, which never happened at a photoshoot, but she wasn’t going to question it.

With two long strides, he returned in front of her and held his body overly close to hers. Instead of returning his hand to her breast, he pulled her against him with one hand on her hip and curved the fingers of the other into the hair at the back of her neck. Pulling away with the faintest hint of pressure, his eyes settled on hers when she tilted her head to look at him.

“Ms. Everdeen… Can I call you Katniss?”

At her quick nod, he continued, “Katniss, I have never been more attracted to a woman in authority before—especially one with a camera who’s bossing me around.” His lips hovered centimeters from hers but he fell silent.

She could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek and appreciated the whiff of peppermint as he moved closer still.

His lips grazed hers with the slightest touch before he murmured, “I’m waiting for more direction. Tell me what to do.”

The tension in her body snapped when she reached up and pulled his head to hers. His mouth closed over hers possessively and then slanted so his tongue could slip into her warmth. She released a moan as he slid his tongue over hers and tilted her head further back and to the side so he could delve deeper. Her hands tore at the buttons on his jacket and worked to slip it from his shoulders. Pulling back, she separated from him long enough to give orders.

“Take me on that couch, Peeta. Now,” she commanded with authority before her eyes closed in ecstasy from the feel of the tip of his tongue tracing the chords in her neck. Without breaking contact, he picked her up and carried her to the rugged leather couch that had been brought in for his photoshoot. The set designer thought the piece of furniture was overtly masculine and befitted his station in life. At this point, Katniss was just grateful there was something besides the table with her photography equipment in the room so that they didn’t have to fuck on the floor.

He laid her gently on the couch before stripping his jacket, vest, and tie from him. He quickly unfastened the top two buttons of his shirt before she ordered, “Leave it. Get down here.”

Obeying without question, he slid his hands under her full skirt and pulled her panties from her. Pulling them to his face, he inhaled her scent before dropping to his knees in front of her and spreading her legs wide.

“Lay back, Katniss,” he said in an awed voice as he took in the sight of her slickened slit. “Lay back and let me please you.”

With a smug grin, she nestled her head into the nook between the armrest and the back of the couch and allowed Peeta to lift her left leg. He placed scorching kisses from the inside of her thigh just above the knee to her ankle before hooking it over the top of the couch. He moved the other leg so her toes barely touched the floor.

When he was satisfied with her position, he surveyed her face and said, “This would make a great photo.”

“Maybe later,” she snapped hastily. “Right now you need to quit talking and show me some action.”

She’d barely finished the sentence before she felt Peeta thrust two fingers inside her roughly, and her hips bucked against him in surprise. He swirled them inside her, careful to coat them completely in the sticky lubrication her body had secreted earlier while she watched him move and snapped images of him.

“You know, I don’t always get bossed around, Katniss,” he growled. “Sometimes I like being in charge too.”

She didn’t have time to respond before his tongue replaced his fingers and he shoved it inside her while his fingers moved to her clit. A loud shout tore from her as he rubbed her quickly. Unbelievably, her body reacted instantaneously, and she shook violently as a quick orgasm ripped through her. It had been a while since she’d gotten off, especially at the mercy of a man’s mouth, but she was still shocked at how quickly it had happened.

Peeta gulped at her and cleaned her thoroughly before he stimulated her sensitive nub, and when he pulled back, he wiped his glistening face with his sleeve. Grinning wolfishly, he teased, “That didn’t take long. Not nearly long enough, I don’t think.”

Katniss released her iron grip on the back of the couch and emitted an uncomfortable laugh. He suddenly seemed very powerful.

“Wh-what are you thinking?” she asked, her nerves getting the better of her.

He rose from his kneeling position on the floor and settled into the couch cushion. His long fingers nimbly worked the buttons free on his shirt and he let it fall to the floor at his feet. Then he tugged on her skirt and pulled it from her. She attempted to clasp her legs together to cover herself, something she realized was silly since he’d just been buried nose and tongue deep in her pussy, but he just shook his head.

“Take off your shirt, Katniss,” he commanded. “We both get a chance at directing this.”

He stood and unbuttoned his pants while she worked at removing her shirt, but her hands trembled when she heard him unzip. Frantically, she clawed at the last two and tore a buttonhole in her haste to remove the garment. He cleared his throat, and she glanced toward him before freezing.

Her mouth gaped and she swallowed hard at the sight of him. The muscles in his chest were good enough, but the cut along his hips and his bulging thighs made her mouth water.

And then there was his cock.

Katniss blinked a few times in disbelief before whispering, “Holy fuck.”

“That’s the idea,” he smirked in his deep baritone voice.

Peeta’s dick stood practically upright and stopped just below his waistline. It wasn’t the longest one she’d ever seen, but it was thick; so thick that she almost salivated in anticipation of it being inside her. He’d fill her completely. In fact, he might tear her in two.

“How do you want it, Katniss?” His voice rumbled from him impatiently. She figured she had about five seconds to think before he made the decision for her. Rising from the couch, she turned quickly to rest her elbows against the arm and spread her knees so that one hit the back of the couch and one rested just on the edge.

“Fuck, yes! Your ass is so fucking gorgeous,” he growled before moving behind her and settling his knees on the cushion between hers.

He reached up to quickly unclasp her bra and ran his hand from the nape of her neck, down her spine, to the valley in her ass before gripping his cock and positioning it at her entrance.

“Hold on tight,” he warned before ramming into her.

They groaned in unison as he sank into her heat. Her walls stretched and massaged his hard-on while she dropped her head in disbelief and panted. With tiny whimpers falling from her lips, she felt herself grip him as he stilled inside her, his hips tight against her ass. She could feel his balls pressing against her before he pulled out and slammed into her again.

“Fuck…” he moaned when he was buried in her completely and he withdrew slowly, so slowly it took forever, but that meant she felt every ridge as he left her body.

“Oh god!” she cried as he shoved into her again. He was so thick her walls stretched more than they ever had. The suction was so tight she felt every centimeter of him. His natural curve hit her g-spot on the third thrust and she clutched the arm of the couch so hard her knuckles turned white.

When she fluttered slightly around him, his control snapped and he gripped her hips hard so he could slam into her. His thighs slapped against hers and his pelvis smacked her ass with a sharp thwack sound every time he plunged into her. His low grunts matched her high-pitched mewls and she shoved back against him in an attempt to keep her arms on the couch and not slide over the side onto the floor.

His pace was relentless, increasing with every thrust as he drove into repeatedly, her name falling from him in guttural groans, his forehead covered in a sheen of perspiration that she saw when she glanced over her shoulder at him. His eyelids were half closed from the intensity of his pleasure, but his eyes remained locked on her ass where she knew he was watching his cock disappear into her pussy and the evidence of her arousal coating him with thick glaze of fluid.

With his right hand, he reached around to rub her clit and she threw her head back to scream incoherently. She tightened and came against him with a desperate cry of his name before he slowed both his thrusts and his fingers to a more sensual pace.

Leaning over her, he pressed his chest against her back and brushed the hair off her neck before placing light kisses below her left ear. His left arm stretched along hers and he allowed his fingers to intertwine with hers so he could hold them both up. His right snaked around her body to fondle her breasts and pinch her nipples as he moved from one to the other.

He hadn’t stopped moving inside her, although his pace was so slow it felt as if he was simply allowing her to cocoon him inside her. His hips jerked almost imperceptibly, and hers pressed back against him lightly.

After several minutes of raining kisses along her neck, he lifted his mouth to the shell of her ear and spoke seductively, “I can do this all night long if you want, Katniss. I can fuck you until you beg me to stop, until your arms and legs collapse beneath you and you plead for me to stop shoving my dick inside you.”

She whimpered at his words, but he wasn’t done.

“But even if I do that,” he warned, “that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop. I can finger fuck you and titty fuck you and go down on you and have you suck on my cock. All night, Katniss. If that’s what you want, I can go all night.”

Something about the tone in his voice created so much excitement inside her that she convulsed around him. Uttering a slow groan, her voice caught as she released the first wave and then hitched again when she clamped around him.

Her orgasm crested and she covered him. He slid further out and then back in and she heard the stickiness as he plunged into her, easier this time with the extra lubrication. The sound turned her on more and she squirted with a scream and a string of expletives.

“Shit! Oh fuck, Peeta! Don’t stop! Please don’t stop,” she begged in a plaintive moan before her words garbled and she could only emit incoherent sounds of pleasure.

The sound of her cell phone ringing jolted her from her reverie, and she cursed out loud when she realized she’d been so lost in her imagination that her legs were pressed together tightly and she was leaning forward against her desk with her arms holding her upright.

How the hell had she gotten so deeply ingrained in a fantasy that she’d confused reality with such a vivid daydream?

Pushing back to sit in her chair, she shot a nasty look at her phone and saw that it was her best friend asking her if she was still at work. Frustrated, she swiped the screen and shot back a text confirming her suspicion but added that she was heading home and would see her tomorrow night at their usual hangout.

Powering down her computer, she stuffed the proof sheets from Peeta’s photoshoot back in the envelope and shoved it into her purse. Maybe she’d pull them out as she drank her wine and allow her imagination to wander again.

Her commute home irritated her to no end. The LA traffic was worse than normal for a Friday afternoon, and she cursed repeatedly at drivers who cut her off and veered too close to her car. By the time she made it to her apartment, she wasn’t sure she how she survived.

Unlocking her apartment door, she called for Buttercup and smiled when he came running. “Stupid cat,” she muttered affectionately before stooping to pet him and then dropped her bag, purse, and keys on the counter and kicked her heels to the side.

She undressed as she made her way down the hall to her bedroom and slipped into a pair of black leggings and a soft green t-shirt and a pair of ankle socks. Sighing in comfort, she moved to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of wine and a wine glass from her cabinet. She uncorked the bottle and poured a glass of the Cabernet while trying to keep her mind off the proofs in her purse.

She took a sip and sighed before giving up. With her wine in one hand, she rummaged into her purse and pulled the envelope free. Tucking it under her arm, she grabbed the wine bottle and strolled to the living room to recline on the couch and watch TV. Settling into the beige cushions, she flipped her television to CNN and unfastened the clasp so she could slide the proofs from the envelope.

The pictures hadn’t changed at all. He still looked incredibly handsome and insanely attractive in the ones she’d already perused, but Katniss choked on her wine when she flipped to the fifth page in the stack.

Because Peeta worked for a sports team, the interviewer wanted to emphasize Peeta’s athletic abilities and had asked Katniss to show both his business side and his physicality. She remembered taking the photographs with Peeta clad in only soccer shorts and his socks and cleats, but she didn’t remember how sexy he was. She shifted a little to ease the tension building between her legs and then allowed herself a few minutes to study the proofs.

It was the ridges under his neck that made the biggest impression on her. They were broad and curved deliciously into his rounded shoulders that topped his muscular arms. Veins bulged slightly in his biceps and his forearms showed definition too. His traps were thick and indicated an extremely powerful back. She remembered him turning and raising his arms over his head to stretch. She’d been so distracted by the ripple of his muscles that her camera sat useless in her hands until he’d cleared his throat and shaken her from her daze.

Most of the shots of him shirtless showed his toned chest more than his back, and she ran her fingers lightly over those shots. Peeta’s thick torso tapered to his waist so that his shorts hung low enough on his hips to hint at a cut in his muscles just along the hip bone.

But his abs…

His abs were a solid sheet of muscle with a hint of definition between them so that he sported a six pack, but not one that was so defined he looked fake. When he moved, his stomach flexed and showed how toned he was. His obliques bulged as he bent to grab the soccer ball that he’d rested his cleats on for several shots and then smoothed out as he stood. She’d silently cursed the soccer ball because it shielded part of him from her eyes when he held it against him.

Her fingers twitched with a yearning to touch him. She wanted to run her fingertips lightly across his pectoral muscles and see the goosebumps rise from his skin and his nipples harden at her touch. She wanted to feel the warmth of his body in his soft, smooth skin. She wondered what his biceps would feel like as they rippled under her palms or how the fuzz of his soft thatch of dark blonde chest hair would feel under her soft kisses.

It was obvious he did some manscaping since the trail of hair that disappeared under his waistband was trimmed and neat. Her cheeks flushed as she imagined the thatch of hair around his cock and how much he groomed that area too. She imagined it was enough so that she’d have no trouble taking him in her mouth, her tongue running along his shaft before moving to suck his balls into her mouth and fondle them with her tongue.

She could practically hear his soft moans of approval as he made shallow thrusts into her mouth. He would then run his hands through her hair before grasping the sides of her head and holding her steady around his erection.

Katniss took a deep drink of her wine and slipped her hand inside her waistband so her fingers could help relieve the pressure in her body. She spread her legs wider and allowed her middle finger to slip into her wet folds and rub slightly against her swollen nub. With a whimper, she kept her eyes on the proofs with his naked torso and imagined him whispering in her ear.

“That’s it, Katniss,” she heard in his gravelly voice. “That’s it, sexy. Rub one out for me. I want to hear you scream my name.”

She swirled her fingers in the pool of moisture between her legs and felt the wetness increase more as the wine eased the tension in her shoulders. Despite the clothing restrictions, her fingers slipped easily along her slit, helped along by the extreme slipperiness of her arousal.

“Shove your finger in your pussy, Katniss,” fantasy Peeta instructed, and she minded. She slid her middle finger inside her and quickly added another. It felt good, but not nearly as good as she knew his long fingers would feel inside her.

Her thumb rubbed her clit harshly as she thrust her fingers inside, and it didn’t take long before her back arched and she climaxed around her fingers. She panted as she imagined Peeta’s eyes dark with approval that she’d brought herself to orgasm. Exhausted, she drained the rest of her wine glass, tossed the proofs on the table, and reclined on the couch.

The deliciousness of her orgasm helped her drift off to sleep with images of his tanned chest running in the forefront of her mind. She only meant to nap, but the erotic nature of his naked body moving over and inside of hers swept through her dreams so that she didn’t want to wake. When she felt his tongue inside her again, she awoke to an internal heat so intense she felt on fire and shook her head at the soft morning light peeking through her curtains.

She forced herself to take deep breaths to calm herself before rising to a sitting position and rolling her neck to ease her stiff muscles. Her eyes flickered to the coffee table and landed on the proofs from Peeta’s photoshoot again. With a sigh of disgust, she shook her head.

What was it about this guy that got to her so much? He’d been perfectly polite and professional during their work together and he’d certainly been attractive, but she hadn’t lusted after him during the shoot itself except when she was briefly stunned into inaction by his back stretch. She’d been around powerful executives before and had dated a few too, so it wasn’t as if his business prowess set him apart from others.

But there was something in the way he held himself that drew her to him. He was confident, but he was also unfailingly polite and completely respectful. He seemed to be impressed by her in a way that few of her subjects were, and that recognition was nice to receive. He wasn’t cocky during their interaction and he certainly seemed willing to admit when he was unsure about what she’d asked him to do. A few times, he seemed almost bashful when she complimented him for following her directions so well.

He’d said goodbye to her with a firm handshake and his eyes shone with admiration when he leaned in to kiss her cheek and thank her for her professionalism.

At the thought of his farewell, she raised her fingers to touch the spot on her cheek where his lips had fallen. For a few minutes she allowed herself to wonder if he could possibly live up the fantasy version of him she’d created in her head. She hadn’t had particularly good luck in the dating department for the past several years, and she’d grown weary of trying. The only time she socialized in a place that was specifically geared to meeting people was her long-standing weekly date with her closest friend Johanna.

But there was no way. There was no earthly way that the Peeta she’d met at the photoshoot could possibly live up to the Peeta who’d lived in her mind over the past few days. That Peeta was not only unfailingly thoughtful, but he was a sex superhero, and she knew that wasn’t possible. No man could live up to the sex dreams she’d just enjoyed on her couch.

Before she could get distracted again, she picked up the disheveled pages, tapped them into a neat stack, and slipped them back inside the envelope. She started to rise from the couch and then changed her mind. Grabbing her phone, she slid the top page free and snapped a picture before standing and tossing the envelope onto the counter and underneath a stack of mail so she wouldn’t spend any more time obsessing over the shots throughout the weekend.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. She spent the next day tidying up her apartment, catching up on her DVR, and returning phone calls. She stayed busy, but she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that her thoughts strayed to him more frequently than she would have liked.

At 5:00 p.m., she gave up and went for a run in an attempt to drive him from her mind, but she returned to her apartment as frustrated as ever. Stripping her sweaty clothes from her body, she turned the water temperature much cooler than she usually did before stepping into the glass shower stall. With a huff of frustration, she gave in and allowed her soapy fingers to slip between her legs and release the tension that had built all day. It only took a few strokes and his imaginary voice in her mind telling her how much he wanted to fuck her from behind to ensure her release, and she groaned as the tension flowed from her. Finally, it seemed, she could put him from her mind.

That is until she meets up with Johanna at the club later that evening and lets it slip that she’d had a more than interesting photoshoot earlier that week. Johanna refused to let her remain quiet on the matter and plied Katniss with a few shots before wheedling the story from her.

Katniss leaned back in the booth and sighed before looking at her friend through her downturned lashes.

“Dammit, Jo, I had a photoshoot with the most gorgeous man in existence. I can’t stop thinking about him,” she admitted with frustration and a loosened tongue.

Johanna leaned forward across the table and narrowed her eyes. She studied her friend’s face for several seconds before asking, “Thinking about him… In what way?”

Katniss took a long swallow of her gin and tonic and flipped her braid over her shoulder. She worried the end of it with her nervous fingers and frowned. With embarrassment flushing her cheeks, she mumbled, “I want to get him naked and do a number of dirty, dirty things with him.”

“What?” Johanna asked over the din of music and clinking glasses.

Katniss took another shot when Johanna shoved it toward her and practically yelled, “I want to fuck Peeta Mellark’s brains out.”

It was at that moment that the song playing in the bar shifted to a rock ballad and the noise level dropped enough so that several people turned to face her table. It was clear at least some of them had heard her lewd admission.

Johanna chuckled and snickered, “Good job, Brainless. I’m not sure the people in the next booth heard you.”

Katniss’ stomach dropped and she froze in shock when she heard a voice from over her left shoulder say, “No, we could hear, and I must say I’m flattered.”

Katniss closed her eyes and gulped in sheer humiliation before peeking her left eye open and shifting her head toward the voice. She was mortified when her shamed look was met by Peeta’s steady gaze.

“Hi, Katniss,” he said quietly but steadily. “It’s good to see you again. I didn’t realize our paths would cross so soon.”

She couldn’t speak, merely nodded at his words, but Johanna released a low whistle. “Damn! This is the guy you photographed?”

When Katniss nodded, she stood up and shot Katniss a pointed look. “I’ll just leave you two alone then. It seems you might want some privacy.”

“Jo—” she warned, but her friend had already walked away.

Katniss tried to hide her stricken face, but she caught a hint of compassion in Peeta’s eyes. Ducking her head, she tried to calm herself and think of a way to apologize for her lack of professionalism.

He reached his hand to cover hers on the table and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry about it, Katniss. You didn’t have any idea I was behind the partition, and I’m very pleased you’re attracted to me.”

She tried to hide the electricity that sang through her veins at his touch and she managed to stutter, “R-really?”

“Really,” he promised with a reassuring smile. “Now, I can’t promise I’ll strip for you tonight, but could I join you for a drink? It would be nice to know the person behind the camera, and you appear to be suddenly alone.”

“That would be nice,” she admitted after a moment of hesitation and watched him move to Johanna’s abandoned bench and right into her line of focus.


End file.
